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An Introduction to Pronunciation Teaching /nntr 'dk
ntprnntsi 'e
nti: 
/ by George Vassilakis /ba : vas 'lkis/

Table of Contents 0. Purpose and Intended Readership of this Document

1

1. Introduction

1

2. Priorities in pronunciation teaching

2

2.1. Goals and models

2

2.2. Overall Approach

4

3. Teacher Knowledge and Awareness

5

4. Segmental Phonology

6

4.1. Vowels

6

4.2. Consonants

9

5. Suprasegmental Phonology

14

5.1. The nature of the syllable

14

5.2. Strong and weak syllables

17

5.3. Word stress

19

5.3.1. The nature of word stress

19

5.3.2. Stress in Simple Words

21

5.3.3. Stress in Complex Words

22

6. Problems of Greek Speakers

24

Appendix A: The International Phonetic Alphabet

27

Appendix B: Greek Vowels and Consonants

28

Appendix C: Underhill's Phonemic Chart for English

29

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 1 of 37

0. Purpose and Intended Readership of this Document This text was specially written for teachers of English as a foreign language in Greece who are interested in helping their learners improve their pronunciation but feel that they themselves do not have adequate knowledge of the phonological systems of English to be able to help effectively. It is hoped that of the teachers who belong to this group, both those whose mother tongue is English and those who have different mother tongues will benefit from studying the text and doing the accompanying tasks. It should be clear that this is a very introductory text and, as such, it may occasionally contain information that is very basic and even oversimplified. The aim is to make teachers more aware of the phonological systems of the language, not to give them all of the information that a teacher needs in order to be able to teach pronunciation. The focus is thus on developing teachers' initial awareness, rather than equipping them with the tools they need in the classroom.

© George Vassilakis 2007

1. Introduction

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 2 of 37

It is common knowledge that pronunciation teaching in Greece is the poor relation of most ELT programmes. Although course books, especially in the last few years, typically include pronunciation practice among their activities, most EFL teachers in our country equally typically choose not to focus on pronunciation, believing that the time gained in this way can more usefully be invested in more grammar practice. And yet, pronunciation is assessed in all of the exams the students are asked to take, while misunderstandings in spoken communication often arise as a result of poor pronunciation! There are a number of reasons why so little attention is paid to pronunciation and they relate to both teachers and learner, as well as the materials that are available for teaching pronunciation:

• Most teachers do not themselves have an adequate level of awareness of the phonology of English to enable them to feel confident about teaching pronunciation. At the same time, many feel (sometimes wrongly) that their own phonological performance is not an appropriate model for learners to imitate; as a result, they avoid teaching or correcting pronunciation altogether.

• EFL learners are also not always as highly motivated to improve their pronunciation as they are with regard to other aspects of their spoken production. It is true that pronunciation is closely linked to identity and it is therefore quite understandable that some learners, especially adults, simply do not wish to sound like native speakers. It is equally true, however, that poor pronunciation is often to blame not only for communication breakdowns due to the unintelligibility of what the learner is trying to say, but also for problems in understanding what other speakers of English (native or nonnative) are saying,

• Finally, pronunciation teaching materials, in spite of the recent publication of a

number of specialist titles, are still quite sparse, while coursebooks as a rule fail to pay systematic attention to the development of pronunciation skills. In addition, most of the pronunciation activities to be found in teaching materials are based on a behaviourist drill-and-kill paradigm, which inevitably leads to boredom among students and teachers alike. While there is clearly a variety of activity types based on more sound pedagogic foundations in other areas of the curriculum, pronunciation teaching seems to have changed very little in the last fifty years.

However, a more principled approach to the teaching of pronunciation, coupled with a higher level of awareness of the English phonological system among teachers, could fairly easily lead to tangible results.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 3 of 37

2. Priorities in pronunciation teaching 2.1. Goals and models

The first thing to determine before we start thinking about the actual teaching of pronunciation is what our goals are. Obviously, expecting learners to develop a native or near-native pronunciation is quite a problematic goal. It is problematic because (a) a native pronunciation expectation is usually unrealistic and often quite irrelevant to the learners' needs; and (b) there is no such thing as a single, uniform way in which native speakers of English pronounce their language: what is 'native' and acceptable in one geographical and social context may be alien and/or unacceptable in another. The issue of what kind of pronunciation we hope the learners will develop and to what extent we expect them to develop it are therefore more complicated than they might seem at first sight. As far as the question of the model accent which we should teach our learners is concerned, tradition and expediency have more or less dictated a decision to EFL teachers in Greece: the vast majority of teaching materials (books, tapes, CDs, ELT videos and multimedia) and all the major learners' dictionaries use the accent which came to be known as RP (: Received Pronunciation), and which is nowadays often called BBC English. This is the accent that has traditionally been taught in most of Europe since the nineteenth century! The reasons why this accent was chosen, although it is only spoken by a tiny minority of Southern English people, may to a certain extent be political, but what is still true is that it is the most comprehensively described accent, the one we therefore know the most about, and the one that is not usually associated with the place its speakers come from, but rather with their level of education and, often, social class. It is, in other words, quite a prestigious accent. However, two factors have to be borne in mind with regard to our choice of BBC English as the model accent to teach:

•

Although BBC English can serve as a model for production (but still see below), learners are likely to be exposed to a variety of other accents when they eventually use English to communicate, native (including many other British, American, Antipodean, African and Indian accents) as well as nonnative. It is essential therefore that they should be trained in understanding a number of accents and that we should not limit their exposure to BBC English. Moreover, if their teacher is a native speaker whose accent differs from BBC English, she or he should not attempt to change her or his accent to make it sound more like BBC English, although she or he should be aware of the systematic differences between BBC English and her/his own accent.

•

The goal cannot be for the learners themselves to develop all features of BBC English to the extent that they might be mistaken for a native speaker! Apart from the fact that for most this would be an impossible goal, we have to also realise that many learners do not wish to sound like native speakers © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 4 of 37

but prefer to retain their own ethnic and linguistic identity even when using a foreign language. At the same time, we have to bear in mind that most learners can expect to have to use their English not just with native speakers (who, of course, use many different accents), but also with other nonnative speakers from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. The main goal should therefore be for the learners to develop a pronunciation that is intelligible and that does not stigmatise them. The goals of intelligibility and non-stigmatisation need to be defined so that we can set pronunciation goals. With regard to intelligibility, a useful distinction has recently been drawn Cruttenden 2001 between minimal general intelligibility and high acceptability. Minimal general intelligibility refers to a pronunciation which shares a number of features with the model such that the listener can understand the message if given enough time to tune in to the speaker's pronunciation. High acceptability, on the other hand, refers to a pronunciation that is similar enough to the model for listeners to be able to understand the message easily without having to rely on the context and without the speaker betraying their regional origin too blatantly. Whereas minimal general intelligibility would be an appropriate goal for most learners up to a high intermediate level, high acceptability is a more suitable aim for advanced learners or foreign teachers of English. The notion of non-stigmatisation has to do with the sort of reaction that a learner's pronunciation may cause on the part of native listeners. Pronunciation problems that might lead to any of the following should be given a high priority because of the fact that they might harm the relationship between speaker and listener and the listener's perception of the speaker as a person:


listener impatience
listener irritation
the assumption that the speaker is of a low educational or social standard


the assumption that the speaker is being impolite It is usually mistakes in rhythm and intonation, rather than the pronunciation of individual sounds, that lead to stigmatisation as defined here. Therefore, rhythm and intonation should generally be considered high priorities in pronunciation teaching. 2.2. Overall Approach Having determined our goals with reference to the learners' wishes, level and communicative needs, we then need to consider what approach we will adopt to the teaching of pronunciation, whether, that is, our approach will be systematic, integrated, remedial, or a combination of the three Celce-Murcia et al 1996. A systematic approach to the teaching of pronunciation would require that a pronunciation syllabus is drawn up, which is pre-determined and contains a © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 5 of 37

specification of phonological phenomena to be taught, in dedicated pronunciation lessons or 'slots' during the year. Thus, if a class devotes, for example, 20 minutes a week to the development of pronunciation, and 'covers' items like the various individual sounds, intonation patterns, word stress, etc. in some sort of predetermined order, the teacher can be said to have adopted a systematic approach. An integrated approach takes advantage of the opportunities present for the presentation and practice of pronunciation phenomena in lessons that are not primarily aimed at pronunciation development. For example, it involves doing a pronunciation slot when the main aim of the lesson is the presentation of the past tense, focusing on the pronunciation of the -ed ending; doing pronunciation work on the new vocabulary; isolating and practising pronunciation phenomena from a recording previously used for listening skills development. A remedial approach to pronunciation teaching focuses retroactively on the pronunciation problems that the particular learners comprising the class have been diagnosed to have. It usually involves recording the learners' production in order to analyse it and diagnose problems, then devising specific activities that will help learners overcome these problems. Clearly, all approaches have advantages and it would be unfair to the learners to use any one of them exclusively. It is therefore recommended that we should adopt a combined approach with the following characteristics:

• Any opportunity for pronunciation work that arises during grammar, vocabulary, speaking or listening work should be taken advantage of.

• Specific pronunciation phenomena that have been found to be of particular

difficulty to Greek learners should form part of our pronunciation syllabus, to be covered in 10-minute weekly slots, preferably during the 'oral hour.'

• Individual learners' problems, as diagnosed through interaction and

recordings (audio and/or video) should be dealt with reactively, especially at intermediate and advanced levels, when there is likely to be some mismatch between the learners' overall language competence and their phonological competence.

However, to implement such an approach, teachers need to know their phonology in the same way as they are expected to know their grammar!

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 6 of 37

3. Teacher Knowledge and Awareness

Few language teachers would feel comfortable without a sound knowledge of the grammar and the vocabulary systems of the language they teach. Yet, most teachers do not mind knowing very little about the phonological system of the language. Of course, it is clear that it is usually not pedagogically desirable to give learners detailed explanations of either grammatical or phonological phenomena. However, the teacher ought to have that kind of knowledge to be able to explain what kind of problems the learners have, why they have these problems and how she or he can help them overcome such problems. At the same time, it will be necessary for teachers to have explicit knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary and phonology of the language so as to make informed decisions about what to teach (and, more importantly, what not to teach) at each level and how to simplify what is to be taught. Thus, most teachers would not only be able to understand a grammatical statement like the following, but they would also agree that this sort of knowledge is essential to a teacher: The passive voice verb phrase is formed by using the appropriate form of the verb to be, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

And yet, very few teachers would understand, much less appreciate the relevance of phonological statements like the following to our profession: The lack of aspiration of syllable-initial fortis plosives in accented syllables can often lead to them being perceived as the equivalent voiced lenis plosives.

In the case of phonology, explicit knowledge and language awareness may actually be more important than in the case of grammar, as problems in pronunciation often require remediation of a type which would be impossible without such knowledge; for example, learners may need to be taught what the difference is between the way a sound is pronounced in their native language and in English in terms of how the sound is pronounced, how the tongue moves, etc. Thus, English teachers need to have at least some basic knowledge of how the various distinctive sounds in the English language are produced, how sounds are affected by stress and lack of stress (or unstress), what tunes are used to convey different types of meaning, etc. They may also find it helpful to know something about the phonology of the native language of the learners they teach so that they can identify differences and anticipate potential problems. The part of the phonological knowledge base that analyses sounds and the way they are classified and realised in the language is called segmental phonology, while the part that analyses phenomena above the word level, such as stress, rhythm, and intonation, is known as suprasegmental phonology. In the next sections, we will review some very basic terminology and principles of both segmental and suprasegmental phonology © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 7 of 37

4. Segmental Phonology The distinctive categories of sound (phonemes) in a language are normally divided into two main categories: (a) the vowels, i.e. the sounds that are produced when there is no obstruction to the airflow passing through the windpipe (trachea) and out of the mouth; and (b) the consonants, i.e. the sounds that are produced when some form of obstruction occurs in the airflow. 4.1. Vowels Among the vowels, some are monophtongs, i.e. they sound like one sound, and some are diphthongs, i.e. they consist in a glide from one sound to another. Examples of monophthongs are the vowel sounds found in the words hat, run, far and dog (respectively: /æ/, //, / / and // while examples of diphthongs are the vowel sounds in the words cake, toy, high and beer (respectively: /e /, / /, /a / and / /). We will mainly be concerned here with the monophthongal vowel sounds. In describing the articulation of vowels, it is important to describe the following:  the horizontal position of the tongue  the vertical position of the tongue  the lip position  the typical duration (length) of the vowel By varying one or more of the above while allowing the airstream to flow unobstructed, we can produce different vowels. Greek has a fairly uncomplicated vowel system, consisting of only five vowels: /i/, /u/, //, //, //. English, however, has a fairly complicated system consisting of twelve distinct vowel phonemes as well as eight diphthongs: /i /, / /, / /, /u /, /e/, //, / /, / /, /æ/, //, / /, //, / /, /e /, / /, / / , / /, /e/, /a / and /a /. The following tasks, adapted from Underhill 1994, will help us explore how the position of the articulators, and especially the tongue, can determine the quality of the English vowels we produce. Task 1: Horizontal Tongue Position Say the vowels in bee /i / and pool /u / a few times. Then say the vowels slowly, the one after the other, alternating between the two. In what direction does your tongue move? Which vowel is closer to the front and which is closer to the back of the mouth? Do the same for the following pairs of vowels. Which vowels would you describe as front and which as back? • /e/ as in the word let and / / as in the word saw • /æ/ as in the word pat and // as in the word pot Now try gliding from each of the above front vowels to the back very slowly and notice what sounds are produced while your tongue is moving towards the back. Next, say the vowels in each series below without stopping. Which vowels would you describe as neither front nor back, but centre? • /i /
// as in bit
/ / as in took
/u / • /e/
/
/ as in the first sound of ao
/ / as in bird
/ / • /æ/
// as in luck
/ / as in part
// © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 8 of 37

Task 2: Vertical Tongue Position Say the vowels in bee /i / and pat /æ/ a few times. Then say the vowels slowly, the one after the other, alternating between the two. In what direction does your tongue move? Which vowel requires that the tongue is close to the roof of the mouth and which vowel requires that the tongue is low, near the bottom of the mouth and the mouth is as open as possible? Do the same for the following pairs of vowels. Which vowels would you describe as close and which as open? • // as in the word bit and // as in the word luck • / / as in the word took and / / as in the word part • /u / as in the word pool and // as in the word pot Now try gliding from each of the above close vowels to the open ones very slowly and notice what sounds are produced while your tongue is moving towards the bottom of the mouth. Next, say the vowels in each series below without stopping. Which vowels would you describe as neither close nor open, but mid? • /i /
/e/ as in bit
/æ/ • //
/
/ as in the first sound of ao
// • / /
/ / as in bird
/ / • /u /
/ / as in the word saw
// Task 3: Lip position Say each of the above vowels again while looking at a mirror. Which of the three lip positions below corresponds to each vowel? • spread • neutral • rounded Task 4: Length Say the following words. Underline the word in each pair whose vowel is longer. pick /pk/ peak /pi k/ pull /p l/ pool /pu l/ bed /bed/ bird /bd/ luck /lk/ lark /l k/ pot /pt/ port /p t/

• • • • •

The following diagram (called the vowel quadrilateral) shows the main vowels in BBC English. To understand how it works, imagine that the left hand side of the diagram represents the front of the mouth, while the right represents the back of the mouth. The top represents the roof of the mouth. Thus, /i:/ is a close front vowel, /
/ is a mid centre vowel and // is an open back vowel.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 9 of 37

Front

Centre

Back

Close

Mid

Open Here is, then, a summary of characteristics of the English vowels in this accent: Vowel

Tongue (Horizontal) Tongue (Vertical)

Lips

i

front

close

spread



front -centre

close

loosely spread



back

close

loosely rounded

u

back

close

rounded

e

front

mid

very loosely spread



centre

mid

relaxed and neutral



centre

mid

neutrally spread



back

mid-open

rounded

æ

front

open

neutrally open



centre

open

neutrally open



back

open

open



back

open

lightly rounded

4.2. Consonants As we stated above, consonants characteristically obstruct the air flow. This sometimes involves a complete stoppage, so that no air can escape through the mouth or nose, but it can also involve different degrees of obstruction or delay in the release of air. In describing the articulation of consonants, the following features seem to be particularly important: © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 10 of 37







the presence or absence of voicing (= vocal fold vibration) as the air passes through the vocal folds the force with which the consonant is articulated the place of articulation, i.e. the position of the tongue and/or other articulators the manner of articulation, i.e. the movement of the articulators and the type of obstruction to the air flow that occurs.

Task 5: Voiced and unvoiced consonants Say the following pairs of words, paying special attention to the initial consonant sounds in red: pet /pet/ bet /bet/ tin /t n/ din /d n/ hush /h/ measure /me / charm /tm/ jar /d / cot /kt/ got / t/ fear /f / veer /v / thou ht /t/ though /
 / sit /s t/ zit /z t/

• • • • • • • •

Now put your hand on your neck, approximately where your Adam's apple is (or should be) and press while you say the following sequences of sounds. Make a note of which sounds produce a tangible vibration, i.e. which sounds are voiced, and which do not, i.e. are unvoiced. • pbpbpb • tdtdtd • t d t d t d • k k k k

• fvfvfvfv • 



• szszszsz •     Task 6: Fortis and Lenis Consonants Say the following sounds slowly and carefully. Pay attention to the force of your breath as you say each sound. To 'feel' the difference in force you could try putting your open palm close to your lips. Which consonants require more force in the expelled air (and are therefore fortis consonants)? Which require less force in the expelled air (and are therefore lenis consonants)? • pbpbpb • tdtdtd • t d t d t d • k k k k

• fvfvfvfv • 



• szszszsz •     Is the following statement true or false? In English all voiced consonants are fortis, while unvoiced consonants are lenis.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 11 of 37

Task 7: The Names of the Articulators Match the names of the articulators on the left with the definitions (some definitions adapted from Roach 2002) on the right. Articulators

Definitions

• • • • • • • • • • •













alveolar ridge back of the tongue epiglottis front of the tongue glottis hard palate root of the tongue tip of the tongue tongue blade uvula velum

the rear, soft part of the roof of the mouth the part of the tongue that is a little further than the middle, towards the back the hard, bony ridge behind the upper front teeth the part of tongue that is between the middle and the front the front part of the tongue just after the edge, where most of the movement occurs the uppermost front part of the tongue; the edge the middle part of the roof of the mouth the opening between the vocal folds the little lump of soft tissue that you can observe in the back of your mouth dangling from the end of your soft palate the flap of cartilage lying behind the tongue and in front of the entrance to the larynx

Task 8: Place of Articulation Say the consonants in each group below slowly and carefully and use the following labels to describe their place of articulation (descriptions adapted from Kelly 2000). bilabial: both lips are used labio-dental:

the lower lip and the upper teeth are used

dental:

the tongue tip is placed between the teeth or close to the upper teeth

alveolar:

the blade of the tongue is close to the alveolar ridge

palato-alveolar:

the blade of the tongue is just behind the alveolar ridge

palatal:

the front of the tongue is raised close to the palate

velar:

the back of the tongue touches the velum

glottal:

the gap between the vocal folds is used to produce audible friction

• • • • • • • •

//, /
/ /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/ /p/, /b/, /m/ /h/ /k/, //, // (this is the consonant in -ing endings), /w/ /f/, /v/ /t/, /d/, //, //, /r/ /j/ (the initial consonant in yes)

Task 9: Manner of articulation Manner of articulation refers to the way in which the air stream is obstructed and released in the production of consonants. There are the following possibilities: • Plosives: The velum is raised and a complete closure is made somewhere in the vocal tract (the lips, the alveolar ridge or the velum). Air pressure builds up behind the closure and the air is then suddenly released. • Affricates: The velum is raised and a complete closure is made just behind the alveolar ridge. Air pressure builds up just behind the closure, but the air is then released more © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 12 of 37

• • • •

slowly than in plosives. Fricatives: Two articulators (e.g. the lips, the tongue, the roof of the mouth) come close together so that there is audible friction. Nasal consonants: A complete closure is made somewhere in the oral cavity and the air can only escape through the nose. Lateral consonants: The blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge so that air flows around the sides of the tongue. Approximants: The vocal organs come near to each other, but not so close as to cause audible friction.

Say the following consonants, paying attention to the way the air stream is obstructed and released and decide what kind of consonants they are with reference to their manner of articulation.
/t/, /d/
/r/, /j/, /w/
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, //
/m/, /n/, //
/f/, /v/, //, /
/, /s/, /z/, //, //, /h/
/l/ Task 10: Review of consonants Match the consonants on the left to their descriptions on the right.  voiceless velar plosive d voiced dental fricative b voiceless palato-alveolar fricative
voiced alveolar lateral m voiced bilabial plosive l voiced bilabial nasal k voiced palato-alveolar affricate

The table below is a summary of information on the English consonant phonemes. Unvoiced phonemes appear in brown type. plosive bilabial

affricate

fricative

pb fv

dental

 td

s t 

palatoalveolar

z

glottal

approximant

nl r



j

palatal velar

lateral

m

labiodental

alveolar

nasal

k

 h © George Vassilakis 2007

w

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 13 of 37

5. Suprasegmental Phonology 5.1. The nature of the syllable

In phonetics and phonology, a syllable is defined with reference to the way it is produced, the way it sounds and the combinations of phonemes that can comprise a syllable. In phonetic terms, a syllable can be: • a minimum syllable which consists of a vowel in isolation, for example the words are //, or / / and err / /. • a syllable which has an onset, i.e. more than silence preceding the centre of the syllable, for example bar /b /, key /ki /, more /m / • a syllable which does not have an onset, but has a coda, i.e. more than silence following the centre of the syllable: am /æm/ , is /z/, ought / t/ • a syllable which has both an onset and a coda: run /r n/, sat /sæt/, fill /fl/ In English, it is possible to have the following types of syllable: • a syllable with zero onset, i.e. one that begins with a vowel. • a syllable with one initial consonant • a syllable beginning with two or more consonants, whose onset is then said to be a consonant cluster: • If the consonant cluster consists of /s/ followed by another consonant, then /s/ is the pre-initial consonant and the other consonant is the initial consonant.
If the consonant cluster begins with a consonant other than /s/, then the first consonant is the initial consonant and the next consonant is the post-initial consonant.
Thus, in a monosyllabic word like spleen /spli:n/, /s/ is the pre-initial consonant, /p/ is the initial consonant and /l/ is the post-initial consonant. • A syllable with no final consonant is a syllable with zero coda. • When there is one consonant in the coda, it is called the final consonant. • When there are more than one consonants in the coda, then one of them is the final consonant and the other either the pre-final or the post-final consonant.
Pre-final consonants are /m/, /n/, //, /l/, /s/. We can see them in words like bump /b mp/, bent /bent/ , bank /bæk/, belt /belt/ , ask / sk/.
Post-final consonants are /s/, /z/, /t/, /d/, // as in the words bets /bets/, beds /bedz/, backed /bækt/, bagged /bæd/, eighth /et/. • The possible combinations of consonants in the coda are laid out in the following table

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 14 of 37

• It is also possible in some cases to have a syllable with no vowel, when there

is a syllabic consonant in the syllable. For example, students /stju
.dn ts/ (the fullstop symbol (.) denotes a syllable division, whereas the diacritic  denotes a syllabic consonant)

In recent phonological work, the term rhyme has also been introduced. The rhyme consists of the vowel and the coda (which is optional) and is divided into the peak (which is normally the vowel) and the coda. Therefore, the structure of the syllable can be represented as follows:

Task 11: Syllable structure Identify the onset, rhyme, peak and coda in the following monosyllabic words and fill in the first table. Then identify the consonants in the onset and coda and fill in the second table. The first word has been analysed as an example Table 1: onset, rhyme, peak and coda Word Transcription Onset

Rhyme

Peak

Coda

blocked

bl
kt


kt




kt

clouds

kladz

facts

fækts

freed

frid

peaks

piks

proms

pr
mz

bl

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 15 of 37

Word

Transcription

rhymes

ramz

springs

sprz

straight

stret

straw

str


twelfths

twelfs

Onset

Rhyme

Table 2: analysis of onset and coda Word TransPreInitial cription initial

Postinitial

blocked

blkt

l

clouds

kladz

facts

fækts

freed

frid

peaks

piks

proms

prmz

rhymes

ramz

springs

sprz

straight

stret

straw

str


twelfths

twelfs

b

Peak

Pre-final Final

k

Coda

Postfinal 1

Postfinal 2

t

Regarding syllable division, the most widely accepted rule seems to be the maximum onsets principle. This states that where two syllables are to be divided, any consonants between them should be attached to the second syllable as far as possible, within the restrictions governing syllable onsets and codas. 5.2. Strong and weak syllables In English, as in many other languages, though not in Greek, some syllables are noticeably weak, whereas others are strong. Whether a syllable is phonetically weak or strong depends on the properties of the vowel in its peak. Thus, weak syllable contain vowels which are shorter, less intense and of different quality than the vowels in strong syllables. Weak syllables can only have one of a small number of possible peaks: • in syllables with no coda at the end of a word, the possibilities are: © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 16 of 37


the vowel //: better /bet/
a close front vowel, phonetically somewhere between // and /i /,

symbolized /i/: city /sti/
a close back vowel, phonetically somewhere between // and /u /, symbolized /u/: thank you /ækju/ • In syllables with a coda whether at the end or within a word, the most common vowel phoneme is //, and most other vowels will tend to be more centralized when in weak syllables. In addition, many well-known English function words have both a weak and a strong form. The weak form of these words is generally the preferred form and it is only when they are given special prominence that the strong form of these words is pronounced. This seems to be an especially difficult area for Greek learners, who tend to pronounce the strong forms in all contexts. Below is a list of the most common weak form words in English: • the: /
/ before consonants; /
i/ before vowels • a, an: // before consonants; /n/ before vowels • and: /n/ • but: /bt/ • that: /
t/ only when introducing a relative clause • than: /
n/ • his: /z/ and /hz/ only at the beginning of a sentence • her: // before consonants; /r/ before vowels • your: /j/ before consonants; /jr/ before vowels • he: /i/ and /hi/ only at the beginning of a sentence • him: /m/ • her: // and /h/ at the beginning of a sentence • them: /
m/ • us: /s/ • at: /t/ • for: /f/ before consonants and /fr/ before vowels • from: /frm/ • of: /v/ • to: /t/ before consonants and /tu/ before vowels • as: /z/ • some: /sm/ • there (only in existential phrases, e.g. there is): /
/ before consonants and /
r/ before vowels • can, could: /kn/, /kd/ • have, has, had: /v/, /z/, /d/ and /hv/, /hz/, /hd/at the beginning of a sentence © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 17 of 37

• • • • • • • •

shall, should: /
l/, /
d/ must /m
s/ before consonants and /m
st/ before vowels do: /d
/ before consonants and /du/ before vowels does: /d
z/ am: /
m/ are: /
/ before consonants and /
r/ before vowels was: /w
z/ were: /w
/ before consonants and /w
r/ before vowels

Task 12: Strong and weak syllables Provide the strong forms of the following weak-form words. The first one has been provided as an example. Word

Weak Form

Strong Form

and

n

ænd

were

w

are

r

must

mst

have

v

them


m

your

jr

should

d

that


t

us

s

5.3. Word stress 5.3.1. The nature of word stress Most English speakers intuitively perceive word stress easily. Thus, it is clear that in the words English, speaker and easily the first syllable is stressed. However, when asked to define word stress, one could easily be mistaken in thinking that it is loudness, above all, that determines which syllable is stressed. In fact, four different factors contribute to our perception of a syllable as stressed: • loudness is definitely a factor that adds to the prominence of a stressed syllable, though it is not the most important one • a difference in pitch between the stressed syllable and the unstressed ones, or, even more, a pitch movement (e.g. rising or falling pitch) within the © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 18 of 37

syllable, seems to be more important than loudness. Pitch should be defined here as a difference in the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds, which can be related to the musical notions of high and low pitched notes. • stressed syllables also tend to differ in length from unstressed ones. Thus, stressed syllables are always longer than unstressed ones and this seems to be the second most important factor in determining syllable prominence. • finally, the quality of the vowel in the peak of stressed syllables is often different; as we saw in the previous section, weak syllables mostly contain central, neutralised vowels such as /u/, //, /i/ and /
/. In stressed syllables, more tense vowels are often used, e.g. //, /æ/, //, /i/, etc. While most two-syllable words in English contain only one stressed syllable, polysyllabic words normally contain more than one levels of stress. Some phoneticians have actually suggested up to five levels of stress for one word, but for practical phonological work it seems that two levels are sufficient: primary stress and secondary stress. The most prominent syllable in a word is the one that receives primary stress. In many words of more than two syllables, there is also a syllable that is less prominent than the one receiving primary stress, but more prominent than the rest of the syllables: this syllable is said to receive secondary stress. Thus, a word like easy /izi/ only has primary stress on the first syllable  (the diacritic  before a syllable indicates that it receives primary stress). On the other hand, the word independent /
ndpend
nt/ has primary stress on the third syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable (the diacritic before a syllable indicates secondary stress). In Greek word stress placement, the monotonic rule operates, which states that a word can only have primary stress; in addition, the trisyllabic constraint applies, which states that words can only be stressed on the ultimate, penultimate or antepenultimate syllable. As a result, both perception and production of secondary stress can be a problem for Greek learners. Moreover, English words whose primary stress is on a syllable before the antepenultimate will usually be almost impossible for many Greek learners to pronounce accurately. Still, English does have some rules for primary stress placement, albeit rather complicated ones and with many exceptions. As general tendencies, though, the word stress rules are important and productive enough, so it is a good idea to briefly review them here. The determination of the stress placement tendency within a word depends on the following factors: • the phonological structure of the syllables the word comprises • whether the word is morphologically simple or complex; complex words are those that contain affixes (prefixes and/or suffixes) and those that are compound. • the class to which the word belongs (whether it is a noun, adjective, verb, etc) • the number of syllables the word comprises © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 19 of 37

As far as the phonological structure of the syllables is concerned, the point to be borne in mind is that only strong syllables can be stressed. A strong syllable is one whose rhyme either has a syllable peak which is a long vowel or diphthong or a vowel followed by a coda. Weak syllables, which are never stressed, have a short vowel in the peak and usually no coda, unless the vowel is /
/ or //. Whereas it is possible for a strong syllable not to be stressed, a weak syllable can never be stressed. 5.3.2. Stress in Simple Words Bearing in mind this basic rule to do with the phonological structure of the syllable, we can state the following tentative rules of stress placement in simple words (i.e. not stems + affixes or compound words):

•

Two-syllable words that are nouns are stressed on the first syllable if the second syllable contains a short vowel. If the second syllable contains a long vowel, it will be stressed.

•

Two-syllable words that are verbs, adjectives, prepositions or adverbs generally have the following tendencies:

•




If the second syllable is strong, then it is stressed.




If the second syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed.




The final syllable is not stressed if it contains /
/.

Three-syllable words behave as follows:




In verbs, the stress falls on the first strong syllable from the end; thus, if the last syllable is strong, it will be stressed; if the last syllable is weak and the penultimate syllable is strong, the penultimate syllable will be stressed; if both the last and the penultimate syllable are weak, the antepenultimate syllable will be stressed.




Nouns and adjectives are normally stressed on the first syllable, as long as the second syllable is weak, even if the final syllable is strong. If, however, the second syllable is strong, then they will be stressed on the second syllable.

Task 13: Stress placement in simple words How do the stress placement rules account for the placement of stress in the following words? Which word appears to be an exception to the rule? • reduce /r djus/ • arrive /
rav/ • lovely / lvli/ • correct /k
rekt/ • honest / nst/ © George Vassilakis 2007

• • • • •

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 20 of 37

larynx / lærks/ entertain /ent
ten/ disaster /d zast
/ emperor / emp
r
/ intellect / nt
lekt/

5.3.3. Stress in Complex Words Complex words can be defined for our purposes here as either words that are made from a basic word (the stem) with the addition of an affix (prefix or suffix), for example dependable, undo or compound words, which are derived from two other words, for example glasshouse, downgrade. Special rules apply to stress placement in complex words, as the production or affixation process affects initial stress placement.* Whereas prefixes do not usually affect stress placement, so that in most cases we can safely say that the rules that apply are the same as for simple words, suffixes do seem to affect stress placement in a more systematic manner. Some suffixes do not affect stress placement at all, while others either result in the movement of stress in the stem or receive the stress themselves. The most common of the suffixes that do not affect stress placement are: • -able: person / psn/, personable / psnbl/ • -age person / psn/, personage / psn d / person / psn/, personable / psnl/ • -al • -en length /lek/, lengthen / lekn/ • -ful: beauty / bjuti/, beautiful / bjut fl/ • -ing: drive /dra v/, driving / dra v / • -like: animal / æn ml/, animal like / æn ml la k/ • -less: power / pa/, / pals/ beautiful / bjut fl/, beautifully / bjut fli/ • -ly: • -ment: enjoy / n d  /, enjoyment / n d  mnt/ • -ness: callous / kæls/, callousness / kælsns/ • -fy: beauty / bjuti/, beautify / bjut fa / There are also suffixes that always receive the primary stress; the most common ones are: / empl

i/ • -ee: employee / end

n / • -eer: engineer • -ese: Japanese / d æp niz/ • -ette: cigarette / s  ret/

*This very simplified introduction to basic word stress rules is based on Roach 2000 © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 21 of 37

•

-esque: arabesque

/ ærbesk/

Finally, there are suffixes which influence stress placement in the stem. The following suffixes normally move the stress to the last syllable of the stem: • -eous: advantage /dvnt d /, advantaeous / ædvnte d s/ • -ic: photo raph /ftrf/, photoraphic / ftræf k/ • -ion: subject /s bd kt/, subjection /sbd ek n/ /s bd kt/, subjection /sbd ekt v/ • -ive: subject With regard to compound words, the question is, which of the two words that make up the compound should receive the primary stress. The general tendency is that compounds which consist of two nouns have primary stress on the stressed syllable of the first noun: typewriter /ta pra t/ tea cup /tik p/* The same rule seems to generally apply to other compounds (e.g. greenhouse /rinhas/, underline / ndla n/); however, there are certain exceptions, which take the primary stress on the stressed syllable of the second word: • compounds in which the first word is an adjective and the second ends in ed: bad-tempered / bædtempd/ • compounds in which the first word is a number third class / dkls/ • compounds functionin as adverbs downstream / danstrim/ • compounds functionin as verbs whose first word is an adverb uprade / pre d/ Having said all this, it has to be borne in mind that rules governing stress placement are more complicated than this necessarily simplistic introductory account may have suggested: what we have described are mere tendencies, and the exceptions are plentiful. Moreover, as we will see in the next section, the rhythm of English often requires that there should be some stress movement, which means that in many cases the actual stress of words in context is different from their stress in isolation. Task 14: Stress Placement in complex words Underline the syllable that receives primary stress in the following words. How can you account for the stress placement? • three-wheeler • suitcase • head-first

*Note that the same rules apply whether the compound word is spelt as one word or is hyphenated or is spelt as two words. © George Vassilakis 2007

• • • • • •

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 22 of 37

heavy-handed picturesque volunteer wonderful poisonous perfection

5.4. Sentence Stress and Rhythm 5.4.1. Sentence Stress The term sentence stress is not entirely accurate, but it is used extensively in pronunciation teaching materials to refer to the way stress functions beyond the word level. Word and sentence stress combine in English to create the rhythm of an utterance, i.e. the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses. Whereas the rules of word stress are independent of context, sentence stress is dependent on the context and the speaker’s intention. In other words, while the stressed syllable in a word is given, the most prominent syllable in an utterance is not necessarily given. The following two tasks exemplify this point. Task 15: Understanding Sentence Stress Say the sentence below in such ways as to give it the meaning indicated in each case. Which syllable is the most prominent in each case? John is going to come to the party with us.

• • • • •

John, not Martha. There is no doubt about the fact that hes coming. He is not going to come to the cinema with us. He is not going to meet us there later. He is not going to the party with Ella.

Task 16: Sentence Stress vs. Word Stress Fill in each blank in the statements below with either the words
word stress or the words
sentence stress. • In the case of multisyllable words, the speaker normally places ___________ on the syllable that normally carries the word ___________. • ___________ normally falls on the syllable that receives ___________ in the last content word of the utterance. • Word stress and sentence stress have different roles, but in connected speech, the role of ___________ is subordinated to that of ___________.

Because an utterance that is significant and analysable in terms of phonology is not necessarily a grammatical sentence (it could be smaller or larger than a sentence), it is more appropriate to refer to tone groups and tonic stress, rather than © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 23 of 37

sentences and sentence stress. Thus, we will reserve the term stressed syllable for the syllable that receives word stress, but we will use the term tonic syllable for the syllable that receives tonic stress. The reason why we prefer to refer to tones in this case is because the tonic syllable is made especially prominent due to the tone movement that occurs within it (see the following section) The tonic syllable is sometimes followed by one or more other syllables. These are called the tail. In the tone unit Fine, thank you, the tonic syllable is normally fine, whereas the syllables thank you form the tail: Fine, thank you. In a tone unit there can be more than one prominent syllables. If this is the case, the first prominent syllable is the onset and the second is the tonic syllable. The part of the utterance between the onset and the tonic, including the onset but excluding the tonic, is called the head. Obviously, if a tone unit only contains one prominent syllable, then that syllable is the tonic and there can be no head. All the nonprominent syllables before the onset (if there is one) or before the tonic (if there is no onset) form the prehead. So there can be a prehead without a head! Thus, in the tone unit I’ll see him tomorrow, the components can be represented as follows:

I’ll

see

him

to

onset prehead

mor

row

tonic head

tail

Task 17: Components of the tone unit Identify the components (onset, tonic syllable, prehead, head, tail) of the following tone units: I havent spoken to him. See you later. Good bye George. Shut your face!

An interesting phenomenon can be observed in the placement of word stress when certain types of word are juxtaposed in speech: a word may change its stress depending on its context within a phrase. The phenomenon is known as stress shift. For example, a word like ‘Heathrow’ /  hir
/ may be produced in isolation with the same syllables stressed in terms of relative duration and amplitude. However, in a phrase like ‘Heathrow airport’ /hi
r ept/ the primary stress on ‘Heathrow’ shifts to the first syllable. A number of words with final primary stress and initial secondary stress are affected in a similar manner. © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 24 of 37

Task 18: Stress Shift Underline the stressed syllables in the following sentences. Which words seem to shift their stress? • I
m thirteen. • She
s just a thirteen-year-old girl. • I
d like some champagne. • He
s only a champagne socialist. • These missiles are air-to-surface. • It
s an air-to-surface missile.

5.4.2. Rhythm The phenomenon of stress shift seems to be aiming for avoidance of stress-clash in the juxtaposition of two stressed syllables and forms evidence that there is an internal rhythm to the English language, which depends on the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, such that the stresses occur at relatively regular intervals. Thus, English rhythm is sometimes described as stress-timed, in the sense that the interval between each stressed syllable and the next one is roughly the same, regardless of the number of intervening unstressed syllables. Whereas more recent evidence suggests that this claim is an oversimplification (Roach 1982), it is definitely the case that there is at least a tendency in English for unstressed syllables to be shorter and more lax than stressed ones. This tendency can be seen both within a word and across word boundaries. You may have noticed in the previous section how pairs of morphologically related words may contain different phonemes because of the different stress patterns: • Japan / d æpæn/ Japanese / d æpni z/ • cigar /s / cigarette / sret/ • advantage /dv ntd / advantaeous / ædvnted s/ photoraphic / ftræfk/ • photoraph /ftr f/ • subject /s bd kt/ subjection /sbd ekn/ The general tendency in English is for syllables that are unstressed to contain more centralised vowels. The following diagram indicates how the vowels are likely to change if the stress shifts from stressed to unstressed:

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 25 of 37

In addition, so that strings of syllables that are not prominent can be pronounced faster and the overall rhythm of a tone group can be maintained, a number of sound linking phenomena often occur at word boundaries, which may affect the realisation of both vowels and consonants. We will not go into these phenomena in detail, as they pertain to rapid colloquial speech Brown 1990 and foreign learners will not usually be expected to reproduce them. However, an awareness of such phenomena may be beneficial to learners on the receptive level, as it is often the case that learners fail to recognise words that are otherwise familiar to them when they hear them pronounced in this manner. Very briefly, then, sound linking phenomena which may occur between words include the following: Assimilation

•

Alveolar consonants at the end of a word often assimilate to the place of articulation of the next consonant sounds. For example:
‘good boy’ /d b / is often realised /b b /
‘hit man’ /h t mæn/ is realised /h p mæn/
‘this shop’ / s p/ is realised / p/
‘these shops’ /i z ps/ is realised /i ps/

•

Voiced consonants at the end of a word are often devoiced when a voiceless consonant follows.
‘have to go’ /hv t / is often realised /hf t /

Elision In rapid speech, certain consonants in consonant clusters at word boundaries tend to be deleted. This is most often the case with the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/ as well as the dental fricative //. Thus, the rapid colloquial pronunciation of the following phrases is as shown: • ‘next please’ /nekspli z/ © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 26 of 37

• •

‘old man’ / lmæn/ ‘sixth place’ /sksples/

Interestingly, there are words in which elision occurs internally: • sandwich /sænwd/ • cupboard /k bd/ Liaison You have probably noticed that it is not always possible to determine when one word ends and the next begins. This is due to the phenomenon known as liaison. To achieve liaison, you often need to insert a sound which, orthographically, does not seem to be there: • ‘law and order’ /l rn d/ • ‘they are’ /ej / • ‘o off’ / w f/

5.5. Intonation 5.5.1. The Nature of Intonation Intonation refers to the nature and movement of pitch in a tone unit. When we examine the pitch movement in a tone unit there are three variables to observe:

•

direction of the pitch movement whether the pitch rises (), falls (
), first rises and then falls (
), first falls and then rises (
) or whether it is level ().

•

degree of pitch movement to what extent the pitch rises or falls

•

placement of pitch movement within the speaker's own voice range whether the speaker uses their normal pitch or they speak higher or lower than their normal range

Thus, a pitch movement upwards or downwards may start in the high, middle or low range of a speaker’s voice (placement of movement), and may involve one, two or three ranges (degree of movement):

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 27 of 37

Intonation carries a communicative function in English. The meaning of intonation has traditionally been described in grammatical and affective (or attitudinal) terms (see Cruttenden 1997), but most recent analyses take account of its discoursal function (see Brazil 1997) either additionally, or exclusively. 5.5.2. Grammatical Functions of Intonation Although variations are possible, there is a tendency in English for certain sentence types to be linked to specific intonation contours:

• • • • • • • • •

declarative:


We went to the theatre.

wh- question:


Who’s calling?

yes/no question:

Is she there?

multiple interrogative:


Did she fall or was she pushed?

imperative:


Go away

exclamation:


What terrible weather!

confirmation tag:


Lovely, isn’t it?

question tag:

You like him,  don’t you?

polite request:

Could you close the door?

Task 18: Intonation and Grammar Can you explain why the intonation contour might be different in the following cases?

• • • • •

You went to the theatre. What is his name? How are you?
Go away. 
Could you shut the door?

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 28 of 37

5.5.3. A
ective Functions of Intonation Although most listeners would intuitively interpret certain intonation patterns as signals of a particular emotion, or an indication of the speaker’s attitude towards the listener, there seems to be little agreement among phonologists in assigning specific pronunciation contours to emotional states. In general, though, it seems that emotion is expressed in intonation per se not so much by the contour selected, as by the pitch range used and the degree of compliance with the intonational norm. Thus, a wide pitch range is normally associated with high emotional involvement, whereas a narrow pitch range is associated with low emotional involvement, even if the intonation contour remains the same. Compare, for example, the following:

Speaker 1: Really?

Speaker 2: Really?

It is clear that the first speaker shows more interest in what their interlocutor has said and is more encouraging than the second. Apart from such general statements about the degree of emotional involvement betrayed by intonation, though, there is very little that intonation on its own can tell us about the speaker’s emotions. However, if we consider in what ways the speaker’s intonation deviates from what would be normal in each specific context of communication, it is possible to reach some safer conclusions regarding the affective function of intonation. Recent analyses (Cruttenden 1997, Wichmann 2002) suggest that we can relate each of the two main pitch directions to an overall meaning: ultimately rising tones (
, ) are associated with tentativeness, lack of finality, or openness, while ultimately falling tones (
,
) are associated with certainty, finality, closeness. This seems to be consistent with the grammatical intonational norms mentioned in the previous section. When the intonation system is used in an unexpected way, i.e. in a way that differs from the norm, then the speaker’s intention must be that the listener should read some additional affective meaning into the utterance. Thus, in a polite request like Could you close the door? the normal intonation pattern is ultimately rising. If instead a falling contour is used, the impression conveyed is one of abruptness and rudeness. Attitude, then, can be conveyed by intonation if there is a deviation from the expected intonation pattern. © George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 29 of 37

Task 19: Attitudinal Functions of Intonation All of the following intonation patterns are irregular (capitals indicate tonic syllables). What attitudinal meaning are they likely to convey?
You went to the THEATRE. 
WHO is calling.
Thank you very MUCH. I
m SORry.

5.5.4. Discoursal Functions of Intonation Consider the following two utterances:

•


When is the next seminar?

•


When is the next seminar?

In the first utterance the speaker uses a falling intonation, because she/he has never had any information about the date of the forthcoming seminar. Presumably, the listener knows the date and the information asked about is new to the speaker. The falling contour is known as the proclaiming tone, because it marks new information. In the second utterance, the speaker indicates that she/he has previously been informed of the date of the forthcoming seminar by using a falling-rising intonation. The implication is that the date of the forthcoming seminar is shared knowledge between speaker and listener. This is why a falling-rising contour is employed; this contour is also known as the referring tone, as it refers back to something that the speaker and the listener(s) share. Task 20: Intonation and Discourse What difference in meaning does a proclaiming or referring tone make in each of the following cases?

• •

When I
ve finished Roach/ I
ll start reading Giegerich. I
ll help you if you
ll help me.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 30 of 37

6. Problems of Greek Speakers

The list of problems and difficulties below is based on Kenworthy 1987, Kelly 2000 as well as my own observations. 6.1. Segments /p, t, k/ These sounds may be produced with not quite enough aspiration in syllable initial position, so that they may sound like /b,d,g/ respectively to the English ear. /b, d, g/ These sounds do occur in Greek, but learners may have difficulty in hearing the difference between /d/ and /nd/ and /nt/; between /b/ by itself and /mb/ and /mp/; and between /g/ and /
k/ and /
g/ /r/ The Greek /r/ sound is midway between a /d/-like sound and a trilled /r/. It is an acceptable substitute for English /r/. The /r/ produced after /p, t, k/, however, may be too full a sound. If high acceptability is the goal, then learners should be encouraged to soften and reduce it. /j, w/ The Greek learner tends to hear and pronounce these two sounds as full vowels (/i/ and /u/ respectively). Although these two sounds are very similar to the consonants the problem is that /j/ and /w/ pronounced in this way will tend to be interpreted by the English listener as separate syllables. /s,
/ Greek has a sound which is midway between these two English sounds phonetically, so there will be problems in perception and production. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that speakers of some varieties of Greek have a negative stereotype of the // sound, so some Greek learners, particularly those from Athens, may be reluctant to make the sound. /z, / These two sounds will be confused in perception and production. /h/ Greek learners tend to produce this sound with too much force and 'hissing' quality. The Greek /x/ phoneme can be realised as a velar, uvular, or palatal voiceless fricative, while the English /h/ is glottal.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 31 of 37

/t/ and /d/ Learners often pronounce these like /ts/ as in 'cats' and /dz/ as in 'fads'. /mp/ Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /mb/. /nt/ Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /nd/. /
k/ Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as / /. /sm/ Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /zm/. Vowels Greek learners often mishear and mispronounce the following vowel roups: /i/ and // //, /æ/ and / / // and // //, // and / / /u/ and / / // There is no schwa in Greek. Learners tend to substitute either /e/ or the Greek vowel /a/ for schwa. 6.2. Suprasegmentals Because of the Greek trisyllabic constraint and monotonic principle, word stress is sometimes a problem for Greek speakers, who usually fail to produce stressed syllables in positions before the antepenultimate and may also fail to produce secondary stress. The rules of sentence stress are more or less the same in the two languages, so there will be no problems in perception. However, because Greek is less stresstimed than English and its pronunciation involves little or no vowel reductions, Greek speakers’ rhythm often sounds unnatural, as unstressed syllables tend to sound almost as prominent as stressed ones. Finally, with regard to intonation, there are two main problems: one is the generally narrower pitch range employed by Greek speakers, which may give an impression of lack of interest, and the other is the tendency to use an ultimately rising intonation in all questions.

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 32 of 37

7. Further Reading This brief introduction has only attempted to give some basic background information on the English phonological system. A more through presentation of the main features can be found in Roach 2000. Those who are interested in an even more detailed treatment should consult Cruttenden 2001 (on segments), Giegerich 1992 (on English Phonology) and Cruttenden 1997 (on intonation). If you find the many phonetic and phonological terms difficult to remember, Roach 2002 is a very helpful glossary. As far as the teaching of pronunciation is concerned, the most accessible books available are Kelly 2000 and Celce-Murcia et al 1996 (the latter focuses on American English, but the techniques described apply equally to British English)

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 33 of 37

Appendix A: The International Phonetic Alphabet

(please visit http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/ course/chapter1/chapter1.html to hear the sounds of the IPA)

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 34 of 37

Appendix B: Greek Vowels and Consonants

(reproduced from IPA 1999)

© George Vassilakis 2007

Introduction to pronunciation teaching - page 35 of 37

Appendix C: Underhill's Phonemic Chart for English

© George Vassilakis 2007